Behavioral evidence for contextual olfactory ‐mediated avoidance of the ubiquitous phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea by Drosophila suzukii

In this study adults ofDrosophila suzukii Matsumura, an invasive larval frugivore, showed reduced attraction to the odor of raspberry fruit, a food tissue, when infected withBotrytis cinerea Pers., a ubiquitous phytopathogen, in favor of odors of uninfected raspberry fruit. Moreover,D. suzukii oviposited fewer eggs on infected raspberry fruit relative to uninfected raspberry fruit. Larval survival and adult size after eclosion were significantly reduced when reared onB. cinerea ‐infected raspberry relative to uninfected fruit. Interestingly, when the behavioral choice experiment was repeated usingBotrytis ‐infected vs. ‐uninfected strawberry leaves, a nonfood tissue, in combination with fresh raspberry fruit, odor fromB. cinerea ‐infected leaves did not reduceD. suzukii attraction to raspberries relative to raspberries with uninfected leaves. These behavioral results illustrate the important role context can play in odor ‐mediated interactions between insects, plants and microbes. We discuss implications of our findings for developing a repellent that can be useful for the management ofD. suzukii.
Source: Insect Science - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research